FDA's LGBT Tobacco Campaign Wins Accolades

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food And Drug Administration's education campaign launched this spring has received an Association of National Advertisers' (ANA) Multicultural Excellence Award.

The campaign won the awards during the ANA's Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference on Oct. 9. The ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Committee awards help raise awareness and recognition for outstanding multicultural advertising campaigns.

The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) unveiled the "This Free Life" campaign aimed at preventing and reducing tobacco use among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young adults ages 18-24 in May, as CSNews Online previously reported.

"This Free Life" was created to challenge the perception that tobacco use is a necessary part of LGBT culture. The campaign is designed specifically to reach the 800,000 occasional or "social" smokers in the LGBT community to help prevent tobacco-related disease and the loss of tens of thousands LGBT lives to tobacco use each year, according to the CTP. 

"This Free Life" launched in 12 markets in the United States in early May using print, digital and out-of-home ads, as well as outreach at the local level to showcase tobacco-free behaviors and attitudes within the LGBT community. The $35.7-million campaign is funded by user fees collected from the tobacco industry.

The FDA launched "The Real Cost" Smoking Prevention Campaign in February 2014, the "Fresh Empire" Multicultural Tobacco Prevention Campaign in October 2015, and "The Real Cost" Smokeless Tobacco Prevention Campaign last month.